Wireless sensor networks provide promising solutions for broad areas of use ranging from building monitoring to medical implants applications. Wireless sensors provide advantages during wide use of cost savings, installation simplicity, remote control, etc. The problem associated with the concept of a wireless network, however, lies with determining how to supply power to contactless, embedded sensors.
Batteries are automatically thought to be a solution for providing power to remote device, but such power sources are limited by their finite lifetime. In addition, sensor nodes tend to be portable and integrated with multi-functions, therefore, limited power issues, small size and integration capabilities pose additional problems in front of the effective implementation of a promising wireless sensor network.
The present inventor believes what are needed are solutions for scavenging energy from the environment, eliminating the need of batteries and extending a device's operating lifetime infinitely. Advances in low power VLSI design, along with the low duty cycles of miniaturized wireless sensors have reduced power requirements to the range of microwatts. In such range of consumption, power supplied by energy harvesting could be a viable alternative. Possible energy sources for use with systems in the micro-domain include solar, thermal, mechanical, human body and wind.
With advances in MEMS technology, the present inventor believes it is now possible to implement a self-powered system together with MEMS devices acting as an electromechanical transducer with conversion governed by employing low power digital control techniques, while keeping the whole system in a small-sized package. Therefore, what is required is a system, apparatus, and/or method that provides an improved power source that overcomes at least some of the limitations of previous systems and/or methods.